For Real
by CallingSiren
Summary: An avid fan of the game Mystic Messenger, MC's life is as normal and boring as always until suddenly, somehow, the game is real. Sprung into the world of the RFA, she finds herself on a mission to not only save Saeran from the clutches of Mint Eye, but also to win over the heart of Jumin Han.


MC never enjoyed Valentine's Day.

Even when she had had a significant other, Valentine's Day had never been a holiday she looked forward to. She didn't know if it was just because she hadn't found "the one" yet, or if the whole idea of the holiday just didn't sit right with her. Either way, the holiday wasn't her favorite.

That was why, when her other single friends suggested going out to dinner to celebrate, she didn't think it was such a good idea. She knew it would be almost impossible to get a table at any restaurant, since they were going to be filled with couples who had nothing better to do than sit and wait to be seated.

But she was easily persuaded. So that night, there she was, surrounded by her four single friends as they chatted about work and school. She fought the urge to glance at her phone, knowing she had five Valentine's Day DLC's she could have been playing instead, along with two more that she was waiting for. Ray's Route had only come out two weeks before, but as soon as she finished it, all she could think about were his and V's after endings, and hopefully Valentine's Day DLCs, that would one day be released. She was rather impatient, but she knew Cheritz was doing there best and working their hardest to make their fans happy.

Jumin had always been her favorite character from the game, the cynical businessman catching her attention as soon as she started the game. Even though she'd played through his Valentine's Day DLC earlier that day, she already wanted to play it again.

As she glanced around the restaurant, all she could see were couples. Her and her friends seemed to be the only ones in the entire restaurant that weren't there on a date, and MC couldn't help but feel a little annoyed by this, for some reason.

She glanced down at her phone again, her thoughts once again on Mystic Messenger. Normally, she never let being single bother her, but seeing all of these happy couples around her madeher rather sad to be single.

"Are you okay, MC?" one of her friends suddenly asked, snapping her out of her trance. "You're being really quiet."

"I'm… okay," she answered, suddenly feeling very hot under the gazes of her friends. "I think I just… need to use the bathroom."

Her friends seemed to understand, the one beside her scooting out to let her pass by. She slid out, her long black dress fluttering to around her ankles as she smoothed it out once she stoof. It was a dress she had bought months before for this very holiday, expecting that she'd have a boyfriend to take her out. But now that she didn't, she was at least somewhat glad that her friends had decided to dress up and go to a fancy restaurant. So it hadn't been a complete waste of money, especially since even though it was a rather nice dress, she had bought it for cheap at a thrift store.

Making her way toward the bathroom, she paid no attention to anyone she passed by. Making eye contact with happy strangers when she was this bitter would not have made her feel any better.

Surprisingly, with the amount of people in the restaurant, the bathroom was empty. She had been expecting a line out the door, so this was a pleasant surprise.

She took the opportunity to look at herself in the mirror, inspecting her hair, her makeup, and her outfit. She looked beautiful. But she was still single.

She thought about splashing water on her face, but then decided against it because of how long she had spent on her makeup. Instead, she just stood there, staring at herself, as if she were expecting something to change. Yet she stayed the same.

"I wish," she began, letting out a sigh, "that Mystic Messenger was real. Maybe my life would actually be interesting if it was."

Shaking her head, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. She was a grown adult, wishing for a dating simulation game to be real. There was no way that could have ever happened.

As soon as she turned to leave, the room suddenly began to shake. She hadn't been through many earthquakes before, but she knew what one felt like. Gripping onto the counter to steady her balance, the world around her shook for about fifteen seconds. Once it finally stopped, MC looked around, only to see that the bathroom looked completely fine.

"Huh," she thought out loud. "It must have not been as bad as I thought, then."

Shakily, she made your way out of the bathroom. She expected the restaurant to be in disarray, with people cowering in fear or running for their lives. And yet, everything was normal, exactly how it was before she had gone to the bathroom. What had happened?

Making a beeline back toward her table, she paid no attention to her surroundings, determined to get back to her friends and demand if they had felt what she had felt. Before she could get very far, however, she was stopped by someone suddenly bashing into her, whatever drink they had been holding spilling all over the front of her dress.

Even though the dress was black and not very expensive at all, MC still didn't want someone's beverage all over it. And since it wasn't cold, she knew that it most likely was not water, and instead some type of alcohol. The last thing she wasn't was to return to her friends smelling like booze, most likely causing them to think she had gone to the bathroom to sneak a quick drink, since she hadn't ordered alcohol with dinner.

She looked up to apologize to whoever had run into her, since it was technically her fault for not paying attention to her surroundings. She opened her mouth to speak, but once she made eye contact with the person standing before her, any response died in her throat.

The man before her was tall, so tall that she only made it to his shoulders even in her heels. His regular black suit adorned his body, the white dress shirt underneath pinstriped, as usual. His black tie was tight around his neck. He looked like he was there for business, not a date. He was breathtakingly beautiful.

This was Jumin Han.

He stood before her, his grey eyes widening as they bore into hers. All MC could do was stare at him. What else could she do when a video game character was suddenly standing right in front of her?

"I'm terribly sorry." He was the first to speak, and all she could do was let out a squeak of recognition. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Actually, she had been the one that hadn't been looking, but still no words were coming out of her mouth. He had a now-empty wine glass in his hand, it stained with the red wine that was now all over her chest. He set the glass down on a passing busboy's tray, searching for a napkin or towel to offer her.

She couldn't have cared less about the wine that was now staining her dress. All MC could focus on was the man standing before her, as gorgeous and as stunning as he always was. How was this even possible?

"Jumin!" a shrill voice suddenly shouted from only a few feet away, gaining the attention of those seated around them. Jumin let out a very visible breath as he turned to look behind him.

There, with her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her high-heeled foot against the ground, was Sarah Choi. As beautiful as she was in-game, MC already knew that it was all fake.

"Here," the businessman began, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. MC tried to speak again, but still her voice failed her. Handing her multiple bills, she were in too much of a shock to reject them. "Please, take this as compensation. I apologize again for ruining such a pretty outfit."

She stared down at the money in her hands, quickly counting it out to see that he had just handed her six hundred dollars. Six hundred dollars!

He now nodded at her. "Take care."

He turned and made his way toward Sarah, who was still expectantly waiting for him. MC was surprised that the redhead didn't rant and rave like the Sarah you knew would, but that wasn't her main concern right then.

MC tried to call after Jumin to stop him, to tell him that her dress did not cost this much, but still nothing came out. She was in such a shock that she couldn't say a word, only able to watch as he and Sarah disappeared farther into the restaurant.

Six hundred dollars. He'd just given her six hundred dollars. Her dress only cost you twenty bucks!

Shoving the money into her purse, MC hurried on her way back to her table. She needed time to clam down before she did anything else.

Seeing her coming, MC's friend slipped out of the booth to let her back in. This was exactly who MC wanted to see. After they both had sat back down, MC grabbed onto her fried's arm, pulling her closer so only she would be able to hear what the frazzled girl had to say.

Being the closest to her, this friend was the only person MC openly talked about Mystic Messenger with. Though she had no interest in it herself, she still indulged MC whenever she wanted to talk about it. She would be able to understand what MC was feeling right then.

"I just saw Jumin," MC whispered harshly.

Her friend merely blinked at her. "Who?"

"Jumin," MC clarified, a little louder because she assumed her friend just hadn't heard her. "From Mystic Messenger."

"Mystic what now?" her friend questioned, pulling her arm out from MC's grasp and reaching for another piece of bread. "What are you talking about?"

MC gaped at her. "The game I talk about? Like all the time?"

She still looked like she had no idea what MC was talking about, and MC couldn't believe it. Grabbing her phone, she opened it in search of the app in question. Yet, to her amazement, the app was no longer there. She swiped through her multiple different pages of apps, but Seven's face was nowhere to be found.

"No way," she whispered, swiping through one last time. Nothing.

Her friends were watching her, concern evident on their faces. She didn't blame them, since she herself felt like she was acting crazy. But how else was she supposed to act when her favorite video game character suddenly appeared in front of her?

She suddenly remembered what had happened to her in the bathroom. Pushing the millions of different thoughts going through her mind aside, she asked her friends, "Did you guys feel the earthquake?"

Their concern shifted into confusion. "Earthquake?" one of them asked, and MC's heart sank. "There wasn't an earthquake."

That was all she needed to hear.

A sudden earthquake, and suddenly the Mystic Messenger app was gone, two of its characters appearing before her in real life. Something had happened. She just didn't know what.

"Are you sure you're okay, MC?" her only male friend at the table asked her, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.

And though she didn't actually know the answer, she nodded.

She was silent for the rest of the dinner, only looking up to see if she could see Jumin or Sarah anywhere around. They must have been seated in another part of the restaurant, because she didn't see them again. That, or she'd finally lost it and had just been hallucinating.

Unsurprisingly, her friends never even realized that wine had been spilled on her dress, and MC were glad that they didn't, because she didn't want to have to explain to them what happened when even she didn't know herself.

Once they were finished with dinner, her friends decided that they needed to use the bathroom before they left. MC thought about going with them, but then decided against it as she was supposed to have gone when she got up in the middle of dinner. None of them knew that she did nothing of the sort.

Deciding that fresh air is what she needed, she decided to wait for them outside. The cold air nipped at her exposed shoulders, the wind blowing her skirt so she could feel the cold breeze against them. It helped her feel better. But only slightly.

Finally alone, she used this time to search the internet. Expecting to see millions of results for her search of Mystic Messenger, nothing pertaining to the game popped up. She moved to Tumblr, shocked to see her blog dedicated to the game was gone, her personal blog being the one to pop up instead.

The game didn't exist. No one else seemed to know what it even was. And Jumin had been there, right in front of her. Had her wish somehow come true?

She was so focused on her internet searches that she was once again not focusing on her surroundings, failing to notice the man slowly making his way up to her. She was caught completely off guard once he grabbed her wrist, pulling him closer to him.

"Hey, baby," he slurred, a sly grin slipping onto his face. He reeked of alcohol. "How about you and me go to some place nice?"

Trying to pull her arm away, MC shook her head. "No, thank you," she declined, knowing that being mean right off the bat would not help her in this situation. "I have a boyfriend."

It was an excuse that usually worked, since men seemed to respect other men they'd never even met before more than women they were trying to harass. However, for this creep, this excuse did nothing.

"He doesn't have to know," he grinned, still refusing to let her go. "Come on."

He began to drag her away, MC too weak to yank herself away. This was when the panic began to set in. She opened her mouth to scream, but was soon cut off by someone else's voice.

"Excuse me," someone interjected, and she turned to see Jumin through the open window of a limo that had just pulled up. "But I believe this woman rejected your offer."

Knowing he wouldn't be getting away with anything anymore, the man through MC's wrist away and started off into the night. She gave no second thought to him, only able to focus on Jumin.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and MC was able to snap out of her trance just enough to notice Sarah sitting beside him in the limo, glaring daggers at her.

MC nodded timidly. "Y… Yes. Thank you."

She wasn't even shaken up by the close call with the drunk man, the only thing her mind being able to focus on being Jumin. He had saved her. Because now, somehow, he was real.

"Please," Jumin began, opening the door to his limp and stepping out. "Let me drive you home."

"What?" Sarah squawked.

She didn't live very far, but the last thing she wanted to do was refuse more time with him. She didn't know if she'd ever see him again after tonight, so she was going to enjoy this time while she had it, even with Sarah there.

She entered the limo and sat across from Sarah, who was still glaring at her. Jumin took his seat next to the redhead once again, though he looked very unhappy to do so. He instructed MC tell his driver her address, and she did exactly that.

MC knew that normally, you never accept rides from strangers. But to her, Jumin was anything but. In another reality, they were husband and wife. And her realizing that made the car ride just a little bit more awkward.

Sarah kept her arms wrapped around Jumin's, which bothered MC ever so slightly. Though she was already well aware of Jumin's true feelings toward Sarah, that didn't mean it didn't bother her that this vile woman was still actively trying to scam Jumin out of money. And since Sarah was there, it must have meant Glam was doing the exact same to Jumin's father.

MC tugged on her earring, not knowing if she should have said something or not. She was almost home, and no one had said anything to each other yet. Was she expected to talk, or was this going to be a completely silent, completely awkward car ride?

"Such a plain looking girl," Sarah suddenly spat in the middle of the car ride, breaking the silence and snapping MC right out of her thoughts. She couldn't help but make a face at the irony of what Sarah was saying, since she'd heard it from the conniving redhead before.

Jumin shook his head. "Sarah…"

"It's fine," MC assured, waving it away like it was no big deal. Because it wasn't. "Believe it or not, I've heard it before." From the very same person.

Sarah scowled. "Oh, I believe it."

Just then, Driver Kim came to a stop right outside MC's house. She didn't know if she should have been happy or sad that this experience was over.

Getting out of the car, she turned back around to face Jumin through the open window. His beautiful face, his sharp features, his soft hair… She couldn't believe he was a real, breathing human being. He was close enough for her to touch.

"Thank you…" MC began, reaching for her purse so she could give him back the ludicrous amount of money he had given her, and maybe even give him more for driving her home, though she knew he wouldn't need it.

"Please," he denied, holding up his hand to stop her. "The pleasure was mine."

"Yes," Sarah sneered from beside him. "This was so much fun. Exactly how I imagined spending my time with Jumin after our dinner on Valentine's Day, giving some random girl a ride home."

MC only smiled wryly at her. She expected nothing less.

"If the money I gave you earlier this evening isn't enough to pay for your dress, please," he began, reaching his arm out the window to hand her something. "Don't hesitate to contact me."

MC looked down to see what he had just handed her, surprised by the small business card she was now holding. It made this whole situation much more real.

"Well," Jumin nodded, and MC snapped her head back up to look at him. "Good night."

She was only able to mumble it back to him, looking back down at the business card as Driver Kim drove away. On the business card was his work phone number, and the address of C&R, an address that was not too far away from where she lived. But even with these listed on the card before her, she couldn't stop staring at his name.

Jumin Han. Executive Director of C&R International.

This was real… She just needed to find out how.


End file.
